Balmoral Castle: the story of the Scottish house that Queen Elizabeth II loved

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photo released, Getty Images

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The Queen and Prince Philip at Balmoral for their silver wedding anniversary in 1972

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The late Queen Elizabeth II’s love for her home in Balmoral on Royal Deeside was well known.

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The queen spent most of the summer in the rural 50,000-acre county of Aberdeenshire, often with her late beloved husband, Prince Philip, and his family.

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Surrounded by rural scenery, Balmoral Castle is where she spent a happy holiday, from her first visit with her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary as a child, to the last months of her life.

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The royal family is sitting on the ground — comment on the photo,

The Queen and Prince Philip with their children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles, in the grounds of Balmoral Castle Square in 1960

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The queen held several royal parties in her outdoor gardens and enjoyed watching the Braemar Highland Games (traditional Scottish games) with other members of the royal family.

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She and Prince Philip also spent much of her final years at Balmoral, where they stayed together during the coronavirus lockdown and spent their 73rd wedding anniversary there in November 2020.

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Balmoral has been the residence of the British royal family since 1852, when Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, bought the county and its original castle from the Farquharson family. Then the house turned out to be very small and the present Balmoral Castle was built.

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Balmoral Castle has been the residence of the royal family since 1852

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The castle itself is an example of Scottish baronial architecture and is classified by the Historic Environment of Scotland as a Class A listed building. The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle was demolished shortly thereafter. It remains the private property of the Queen and is not part of the Crown Estate.

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It is a county that contains agricultural structures, grouse swamps, forest and farmland, as well as herds of deer, highland cows, and ponies.

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The royal family was in Balmoral when Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, and they later became the center of attention.

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After witnessing a private service at the Krathie Chapel, the Queen and the royal family stopped to look at the remaining flowers to greet Princess Diana at the gates of Balmoral Castle in September 1997.

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On the Sunday morning after Princess Diana’s death, the Queen and Princes Charles, William and Harry attended mass in the chapel of nearby Krathie Kirk.

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Here is a collection of historical photos of the queen and her family at Balmoral over the years:

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